One Last Adventure
by The-crazy-lone-wolf77
Summary: Something seems to be missing from Humphrey and Kate's lives and when presented with a solution they take to the opportunity with little thought. However, not everything is always perfect in life and the couple will soon find out just what that means.


Life is good. I really don't have much to complain about. I have a beautiful, loving mate who is the center of my world. I have four beautiful pups whom I hold so near and dear to my heart. Along with that, I have amazing friends; including my three best friends since birth, and my sister and brother-in-law. Yah, I never thought I'd be that great of friends with Garth either, but we worked it out; he's actually a pretty nice guy once you get to know him. Anyway, great friends who I'm glad to have in my life.

Next to that, the united packs are thriving. It may have been a little touch and go at the beginning. I mean the packs have been at each other's throats for years, so to think everyone would just get along immediately was kind of foolish in hindsight. But after the years we all learned to get along, mostly.

So, like I said, my life has never been better. Its for that reason I have no idea why I have this empty feeling inside me. I am completely happy with everything that has occurred in my life and have come to terms with all the bad that happened, yet a feeling of melancholy lurks within me. However, its more than just normal sadness. It's not a feeling of anger, or guilt, or anything like that; it's a feeling of just emptiness. Its like something is missing from my life and I have no clue what it is. I sighed deeply to myself, wishing I knew what was wrong.

I first started noticing it a few weeks ago. Kate and I were having a conversation about the pups and how they were growing up very quickly. Come this winter, two of our pups will head off to alpha school while the other two start their own adventure in their lives. While thinking about my pups starting off an adventure of their own brought me an empty feeling. At first, I thought maybe it was an empty nest type of thing. Like maybe I was going to miss my pups more than I thought I would. But I quickly shot that down considering I'd still see them around the pack quite often. It's not like I would never see them again, so it couldn't be that.

Throughout the next couple weeks, I just started becoming more and more drained by doing the same things I've done for the past couple years. Its just become so much harder to do normal everyday things. It isn't just me getting physically tired either; it's also taken its toll on me mentally. Also, nothing seems to satisfy me anymore.

I tried hanging out with friends to have some fun like the good old days. We even went log-sledding to try ang get a rush, but I just didn't feel the same exhilaration as I used to. I didn't want to seem like a downer to my friends, so I acted as though I had a great time; which I did, hanging out with them again was great, just not in the way I wanted.

Not even getting passionate with my mate brings the same excitement as it used to. Not to say I don't love Kate. I love her more than life itself, as cheesy as that sounds, and would never do anything that would jeopardize my relationship with her. Which is why it hurts that I don't get the same thrill as I used to. I want it to. I want to feel like I did when I was younger. Its just that nothing seems to do anything. It's both irritating and depressing.

The past couple of days I've now been taking walks that can last a few hours. I have a feeling that others have started to notice considering I see the glances of concern they give me. I try to play it off as nothing, but eventually they're going to catch on; especially Kate. She is quite smart, and we have been together long enough to know when somethings wrong with one another. My guess for the reason she hasn't questioned me about it yet is due to the fact she's been preparing to take over her fathers' position. She's been training her whole life to become head alpha, but now its almost time for it to become official. It hasn't been officially announced yet, and all who know are supposed to keep their mouths shut until the official announcement. Following that will be a whole ceremony and so on. So, she's been off with her father doing some final preparations. I'll go through similar training eventually, but it will be more of a crash course after Kate becomes leader. Most responsibilities will fall to her, but she will teach me certain things I need to know on the go. So for now Kate is off learning her new responsibilities leaving me alone for most of the day. Alone with my thoughts. My thoughts always lead me back to one question; what am I missing?

I eventually found myself sitting on top of a small cliff side that overlooked a vast area of the forest below. I really enjoyed coming here and watching the sunset over the horizon away from everyone else. It brought back a certain feeling of nostalgia from a long time ago. It seems to be one of the few things to brighten me up these days.

I sighed again, I found myself doing that more and more these days, what's wrong with me? I have so many amazing things in my life that should keep me happy and contempt, yet the thing to somewhat brighten my day is a sunset? It makes no sense to me. I know something is wrong, and I know I am missing something; I just can't for the life of me think what it is. I caught myself before I sighed this time.

"Hey there, Humph." The sudden voice caused me to jolt up, startled from the sudden voice. But when I processed the voice, I calmed down realizing who it was talking. It would be hard not to recognize the voice of my own mate. I turned and faced Kate, giving her a warm smile. It was a pleasant surprise to see her. It's actually kind of unusual to see her this early. The past couple weeks I could usually get done watching the sunset, gaze at the stars for a while, take a leisurely stroll back home, and be alone with the pups for about half an hour before Kate got back. And when Kate does get home, she's usually exhausted and just wants to get some sleep. So, getting to see her this early now was nice.

"Kate," I said happily. "Want to watch the sunset with me?" I invited, patting the earth next to me.

"Of course," She smiled. I couldn't help but notice a slight undertone in her voice. I have a feeling we were about to have a long conversation here. "So, is this where you go when I'm gone?" She asked half-jokingly, but I could also hear a bit of concern in her voice. Yup.

"Yes and no. This is just were I end up at the end of the day to watch the sunset and gaze up at the stars for a while." I explained, a small smile appearing on my lips. Kate had definitely made this all the better, which was interesting. When we got, uh, intimate, the other day I didn't feel this way. But sharing this simple moment with her brought back joy I haven't felt in a while. It started unlocking some old memories and I think I was starting to piece together what's been missing.

"This is a pleasant change in scenery," Kate expressed happily as she leaned up against me. "Its been so stressful lately with all this head alpha stuff. It's nice to take a load off and relax a little." She explained.

"You know, its been a long time since just the two of us did something like this."

"Well, having pups and having all this responsibility pushed on us has left little time for each other. And I think it's taken its toll on the both of us." She said, looking up at me expectantly. Yup, I figured she knew something was going on with me. My gaze shifted from the sky down towards the ground. I've been dreading this impending conversation. How am I supposed to tell my mate that nothing gives me pleasure anymore, her being among those things? What would she think about that? I still love her, I have no doubts about that; but would she believe me if I told those two contradicting statements. I feel like this might ruin everything. Unfortunately, there is no running from this. Kate knows me well enough that I wouldn't be able to play it off as nothing, and she doesn't let these things go. I'm not leaving this spot until Kate gets her answers.

I'm glad Kate has grown to be patient, especially with me, because I was taking my time to give my response. Eventually, I found my words and looked into her worrying eyes. "Its kind of hard to explain." I stated, already feeling defeated. Kate gave me a feint, loving smile that melted my heart. She lifted her paw and rested it on my shoulder.

"You know you can tell me anything, Humphrey. We're supposed to be partners and we help each other through thick and thin." I almost burst into tears hearing that. How could I ever think Kate would leave me for such a trivial thing. Honestly, we've been through worse with each other. This is nothing in comparison. Still, it doesn't make it any less hard.

I looked at Kate, back to the ground, took a dep breath, then looked back to Kate. "It just seems that nothing I do brings me any sort of satisfaction or relief." I said, trying my best not to sound like an asshole. Kate slightly tilted her head, signaling me to continue with my explanation. "I noticed it a few weeks ago. I just don't find the same amount of joy I used to with everything I do. I just feel as though somethings missing from my life and I have no idea what it is. Then I feel as though I'm being selfish or something because I have such a great life, yet here I am feeling miserable. I don't understand what's going making me feel this way. I just want things to be like they used to, but nothing I do helps." I don't know when it happened, but sometime during my explanation I started crying. I wiped my eyes, clearing my vision from the pool of tears that formed in my eyes. I was taken slightly back when Kate took no time in crashing her body into me. At first, I thought she was mad at me and attacking me, but that thought was immediately pushed out of my head. Kate would never attack me. I was pleasantly surprised when I felt her softly hugging me. This actually feels real nice, like really nice. I could feel my body melting in her embrace. I could feel the emotion behind this, more than I have in a very long time between Kate and me. I can feel her releasing her emotional stress within the hug as she lightly cried on my shoulder. I don't know how we ended up here, but I honestly can't say I don't enjoy it, save for the fact my mate is crying which is really concerning. I hugged her back and gently stroked her head to comfort her.

"I…I'm sorry Humphrey. I should be comforting you in your, yet here I am falling apart." She sniffled.

"That's alright, its kind of what I signed up for when I agreed to be your mate," I chuckled, "Though, I'd like to know why you just fell apart on me," I chuckled softly.

That earned me a slight laugh as she backed away from me seeming to have regained her composure. "Yah, I do owe you a little bit of an explanation for that. I guess, simply put, you said everything I have been feeling for the past little while as well." I stared at her wondering if I had heard correctly. Did she just say that she had been feeling the same way I have the past couple of weeks? Have we seriously been going through the same thing alone? "With all this leadership stuff being dropped onto me everything I do seems to have become almost joyless. I think its due to the fact that after we become leaders, that's all we'll be doing for years to come. No breaks, no sick days, no free time. And after being your mate all these years the thought of that has started wearing on me leaving me with a lack of satisfaction in anything I do." Wow, she just explained everything I've been feeling almost perfectly, and then some. I didn't ever consider the fact that after we become leaders our social lives are basically over. Maybe apart from seeing a friend occasionally at the feeding grounds or moonlight howl, our lives will mostly be business. So, I'm going to have to process that.

"Wow, I guess I didn't notice you going through the same thing, yet you seemed to notice something off with me. That makes me feel great about myself," I chuckled emptily.

"To be fair, I'm kind of trained to deal with those sorts of things. Also, some others came up to me and talked about how you weren't acting like yourself lately. So, you can thank having caring friends." She smiled. That did actually make me happy to know I have friends out there looking out for me. But that aside, this still raises a very serious question.

"How do we fix this?" I brought up the question I knew we were both thinking. She didn't answer my question. Neither of us knew how to fix our problem. We sat in deep thought for a while, trying to come up with an idea, but nothing came to mind for me, and by the expression on Kate's face she had no clue either. This is definitely a problem.

Mine and Kate's ears shot up as we heard the sound of something starting to break then a quiet "Oh no." Soon after there was a loud snapping noise followed by a choir of screams then a loud crash as a group of bodies hit the ground. Kate and I gave each other knowing looks before focusing out attention on the pile of groaning wolves.

"I told you we all shouldn't have been up there," one of the boys said.

"I recall you saying, 'This branch is perfect to hold all our weight'." One of the girls mocked him.

"Nah, that doesn't sound like something he'd say. He's never wrong didn't you know." Another one of the boys mocked.

"I hate both of you," the first boy groaned. Meanwhile the last girl just looked like she was in a daze trying to shake off the fall.

"Dakota, Katie, Blaze, Hannah? What in Fenrir's name are you doing?" I asked; not really surprised, but still slightly annoyed and of course a little concerned. Though they've definitely been through worse and all come out unscathed.

"Oh, you know, just dropping by." Blaze said with a pained chuckle. Now I couldn't tell if their groans were because of the fall or from that attempt at a joke. I personally enjoyed it, but to be fair I taught Blaze just about everything he knows.

"Pups, I told you to stay back in the den," Kate said a little heated, which is understandable. This was supposed to be a private conversation between Kate and I. Undoubtedly, they all heard everything that was said.

"We were worried about you and dad. We just wanted to make sure you guys are okay," Dakota defended.

"Yah, you two have been very distant lately and its just not like you guys," Hannah pointed out. On one paw, its nice to know our pups care about us this much, but on the other that conversation was supposed to be private.

"And from what we heard we were right to worry," Hannah stated.

"You guys weren't supposed to hear any of that," I sighed. "That was supposed to be between just me and your mother." The pups just looked at each other and all gave a simultaneous shrug. I should have expected that. I wanted to be a little mad at them, but I can't bring myself to stay angry with them.

"I guess we did sign away any sort of privacy when we had you," I gave a soft smile. I saw Kate gently shake her head, but I could make out a feint smile as well.

"Well, I think you'll appreciate us overhearing…" Blaze started.

"eavesdropping," I corrected.

"OVERHEARING," he jokingly emphasized, "you, because I have an idea to fix your problem!" he stated matter-of-factually.

"You do?" everyone else asked surprised. As serious as this is, I'm a little intrigued on what our youngest pup has to say.

"Its simple really. Mom and dad said they've been feeling bored by doing the same the same thing every day, right?" A little dumbed down from the actual issue, but close enough. "So, all you need to do is go on an adventure, just like in your stories of when you were our age!" he expressed excitedly.

Him saying that sent a certain feeling through my body. Going on an adventure again like our one from Sawtooth? I don't even know if I could handle that anymore. But the idea, it honestly set something off in me. I glanced over at Kate who looked as though Blazes suggestion was having the same effect on her. She looked to be in a deep state of thought. She eventually met my gaze and I could see something in her eyes that sent another twinge through my body.

"Pups go back to the den please," I told them. They all gave me confused looks and I could see they wanted to argue. "Go back now, well talk about all of this later," I said firmly. There are very few times I get really stern with them, this seemed like an appropriate time. They seemed to notice the seriousness in my voice and complies.

"We'll meet you back in the den, and please don't get into any trouble the rest of the night," Kate stated. They nodded their heads and left in the direction of the den.

When we knew they were out of ear shot and not staying around to listen in on our conversation we began talking.

"Did you feel the same thing I felt when he said that?" I asked. Kate nodded her head slowly.

"Its kind of weird, its like somethings wanting me to do just that. Like something in me was awoken and now won't go away."

"Yah, I know how you feel. Could Blaze be on to something with that? Because if so then I have no idea how he got this clever," I shook my head chuckling.

"I mean, yah it's a nice idea, but would we actually be able to do it? We're supposed to become the new pack leaders any day now, we have four pups to take care of, and we'd be leaving everything behind for who knows how long. Plus, where would we even go?" Kate did bring up a lot of good points. I had a few ideas about what we could do with the pups, but the other things I had no clue what to do.

"We could bring it up with your parents and explain what's been going on. Your parents are very reasonable wolves. The pups we could just send to Lilly and Garth. As far as where we go, Marcel and Paddy tend to stick around here. I can find them and ask if they know of anywhere nice." I suggested. Kate went to speak but stopped and thought for a moment. Slowly a smile crept over her face and she began nodding her head.

"This actually sound really nice. I think we deserve a vacation." She smiled.

"Agreed. Now come on we should get back to the pups. I'm sure they're causing trouble somehow." I chuckled. She agreed and we began walking back to the den.

Could this be the cause of all my troubles the past couple weeks? Is all that I need just a bit of a vacation. I guess to be honest it would be a little more than just a vacation. This would be to relieve all of our stress, get a sense of excitement in our life we left behind. In fairness, we did trade it with a different type of excitement with the pups, but there's something special about just going out into the world and not knowing what to expect. Maybe this is what I've been missing. If that's the case, then I hope we can convince Winston and Eve to let us leave for a short while. And if this isn't the problem, well then we'll just have to figure it out a different way.

* * *

**Hello everyone! It has been a very, very long while since I posted an original story on here. My last one being on updated over 3 years ago, and posted over 4. My remastered stories do not count. Anyway, this idea popped into my head awhile ago and I'm finally getting around to finishing the first chapter, so I hope you enjoy it.**

**If enough people fav, follow, and review then I'll continue it. Thanks for reading!**

**Keep on Keeping on**

**Peace Out.**


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